02 November 2014

November 2, 2014 - INDIANAPOLIS - Central State Brewing, a new Indianapolis Brewery founded by experienced brewer Josh Hambright, is proud to announce a contract brewing partnership with Black Acre Brewing Company. To commemorate the announcement, the teams from Black Acre and Central State brewed a collaboration beer this weekend that highlights the unique approaches of both breweries as well as their partnership.

Central State will be the first brewery in Indiana, joining a small contingent of breweries across the United States, focusing exclusively on fermentation using wild yeast strains with a special emphasis on the Brettanomyces (“Brett”) yeast family. Beers created using Brett are growing in popularity in the United States due to the distinctive flavor profiles they can produce. Recently a growing number of US breweries have begun to experiment with Brett, but few have committed to incorporating Brett into all their offerings.

“By utilizing Brett, we are able to pursue some really unique ideas that would be difficult in a brewery without that focus. Brett opens up a whole new palette of flavors to paint with that we can use to create unique beers and put innovative spins on traditional styles.” said Josh Hambright, Head Brewer and Co-Founder.

Under the partnership agreement, Black Acre will produce beers for Central State Brewing at their new facility in Irvington’s Coal Factory redevelopment effort. Central State will work with Black Acre to supervise all aspects of production while maintaining responsibility for all sales and distribution decisions. While producing beer under contract at the Coal Factory facility, Central State will continue to search for a permanent home in the Indianapolis area.

“We are very excited to work with our friends at Black Acre. In our opinion over the past two years, they have really moved into the top tier of breweries in the state and are making great beers. The vision that Justin has for the Coal Factory is amazing and we’re lucky to be a part of the entire vision.” said Co-Founder Jake Koeneman.

Steve Ruby from Black Acre added, "Having known Chris, Jake, and Josh through their involvement in the Indianapolis beer community, as well as Josh for his work at Flat12 and Starlight Distributing, we have no doubt that Central State will be an exciting addition to the brewing scene. Their enthusiasm for craft beer is unbridled and we're looking forward to working with and alongside them."

Dates for the release of the collaboration and launch dates for Central State beers are tentatively scheduled for early 2015. Check Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CSBrewing) and Twitter (@CSBrewing) for updates about both releases. Further inquiries may be made to Info@CentralStateBrewing.com.

About Central State Brewing

Central State Brewing is a brewery founded in 2014 by bearded friends Josh Hambright, Jake Koeneman, and Christopher Bly in Indianapolis, Indiana. Central State is focused on producing beers of exceptional quality with distinctive profiles using old world and new world techniques.

About Black Acre Brewing

Black Acre Brewing Company is a nanobrewery founded in 2011 by Jordan Gleason, Matt Johnson, Holly Miller, Justin Miller, and Steve Ruby with a focus on making a variety of specialty and seasonal beers. Currently only distributing out of their taproom at 5632 E. Washington St., Black Acre Brewing Company is in the process of building a new production facility at the Coal Factory, anticipated to be operational in 2015. Steve is currently the only owner with a beard.

About the Coal Factory Redevelopment

The Coal Factory encompasses 50,000 square-feet of property on the south side of Bonna Ave. and roughly between Ritter Ave. and Audubon Rd. It will house Black Acre Brewing Company’s new brewing facility, B’s Po Boy’s second location, existing tenants Playground Productions, Coal Yard Coffee, 5547 Project and Inhabit and many unannounced tenants including a mix of restaurants, retail, artisan food production, art and entertainment offerings, and office space.

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